


Day 14 Prompt Fill: Scars + Soulmates

by tikkikwami



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Prompt Fill, Scars, Trans Duck Newton, cw blood/injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 13:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21036734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tikkikwami/pseuds/tikkikwami
Summary: Indrid didn't have a soulmate. Then one day, he did.





	Day 14 Prompt Fill: Scars + Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> CW: description of injury/blood
> 
> Prompts:  
“Scars” https://virtu-s.tumblr.com/post/187886241479/hello-friends-elventhief-and-i-but-mostly-her  
“Soulmate AU” https://raepocalypse.tumblr.com/post/165947815208/fictober-otp

*

Indrid Cold did not have a soulmate. 

At first it was normal. Most people didn’t meet their soulmate until young adulthood. But as the years went on, his skin remained unmarked. Swallowing the bitter loneliness, he did his duty as seer until the day he gave up on finding his soulmate on Sylvain. He had nothing to lose. So he crossed over onto Earth, never to return. 

The next century passed calmly, quietly. Relieved of his seer duties, Indrid worked with his team to find the solution to Sylvain’s Quell problem. But the longer they worked, the more hopeless the situation seemed, until Indrid’s team returned to Sylvain - except for Barclay, who went out on his own after the group split up. 

And then one day, it happened. 

Indrid screeched in surprise as the skin over his palm split open. He’d been drawing when suddenly he was injured out of nowhere. Rushing to the sink, he stared at the injury as blood dripped into the sink. It looked like the wound was… closing up? No, that couldn’t be right. But it was. And moments later, it was a tidy scar. A neat white line that crossed his hand, thin and silvery in the light. Shaking, he washed his hands of blood, hoping none had gotten on his sketchpad. 

He had a soulmate. 

A powerful sense of longing took hold of Indrid at that moment. _He had a soulmate_. He should go find them, right? But where should he look? Sylvain, or Earth? He traced the scar with a finger, marveling at the discolored flesh. 

He had a soulmate. 

*

And then twenty years passed. 

Indrid had spent a couple of years in large cities, hoping to run into his soulmate by chance, with no such luck. He didn’t even know what he was looking for or how to look. He just wandered, and hoped, and dreamed. 

He knew that the soulmate link only began once people became adults. So he was looking for a human above the age of eighteen or a sylph at least the age that given species became an adult. But there’s a lot of adults in the world, and none of the ones he ran across were his soulmate.

Over the years, his soulmate sustained surprisingly few injuries. They must be lucky or surprisingly tough. He sighed dreamily thinking of the day they would meet. All soulmates were destined to meet, after all. He just wanted it to be sooner rather than later. 

And eventually, his wish was granted. 

*

When Duck Newton knocked on the door of Indrid’s winnebago, he felt nervous. He wasn’t sure whether he could trust this guy, and he felt his hand inching toward Beacon. He claimed he could see the future. Duck was suspicious of this character. 

And then the door opened. And his suspicions vanished. Because he met eyes with Indrid and _knew_. 

Indrid looked surprised for a moment, then carefully schooled his expression. “Okay, go ahead.” Duck stared as Aubrey excitedly talked to Indrid. 

He’d met his soulmate. The knowledge was more of a shock than anything. For twenty years he’d known he had one, since the first phantom papercut the day he turned eighteen. And now he was here, in front of Duck. 

But they had Pine Guard business to attend to. And Duck wasn’t entirely trustful of Indrid yet. Maybe sussing him out before declaring his soulmate status was a good idea - even if his presence filled Duck with a sense of calm and made him smile. 

*

And then Indrid was fleeing the tree battle, flying low above the treetops and hoping he wouldn’t be seen as he retreated to the campgrounds. He made it into his winnebago with a grateful sigh. He didn’t have his glasses, but he knew Duck would bring them to him. 

He smiled. Duck and the others would win the battle against the abomination without much difficulty. His soulmate was _heroic_. The knowledge made joy bubble up in his chest, and he started laughing happily. He finally met his soulmate! This was really happening!

*

Later that day, Duck found himself knocking on Indrid’s door, a pair of red glasses clutched in his hand. When Indrid opened the door, he saw the large moth person, but didn’t flinch. He wasn’t scared of him. 

Instinctively, he knew his soulmate wouldn’t hurt him. 

Wordlessly, he passed the glasses to Indrid, who slipped them on and instantly became human again. He was still cute in such a strange way, Duck noticed. “That’s better,” he sighed. “Please excuse the way I look. I got dragged into the forest by a feral goat-man.” 

“Hey, I get it,” Duck said, grinning as he stepped inside. “So, you’re, uh… we’re soulmates, I guess?” He phrased it like a question, as if he didn’t already know the answer. 

Indrid nodded. “It seems so.” He showed his palm to Duck, where a silvery scar ran across it. Duck had a matching one. “You so rarely get hurt that I often doubted you were real. But I always had this scar to remind me.” 

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” Duck said, rubbing the back of his head. “I dropped a knife in the kitchen and had the bad sense to grab it outta the air.” 

Indrid giggled, putting his hand over his mouth. “_Duck_.” 

“I know,” Duck sighed, sitting down on Indrid’s sofa. Indrid sat across from him at his kitchen table. “It was real dumb, but hey. At least you got a sign that you got a soulmate, right?” 

“Oh, yes. It had been almost three hundred years without one. Imagine my surprise when it happened.” 

Duck let out a slow breath. “Three hundred years. Huh.” 

“Sylphs are long-lived,” Indrid explained, folding his hands in his lap. “I should live another forty years or so, Sylvain willing.” 

“Hey, me too,” Duck said, relieved. “Okay, so you’re not jus’ gonna keep on trucking for another few centuries after I pass on.” 

“I should hope not,” Indrid responded with a small smile. Then he looked down, thinking. “Did you realize your tattoos would appear on me?” 

Duck nodded. “Yeah.” After a few seconds, he looked mortified. “Oh, _no_.” 

“Oh, yes,” Indrid said, grinning. “You got a _mothman tattoo_ on your calf.” 

Duck hid his face in embarrassment, blushing a bright red. “I lost a bet!” he said defensively. 

“Sure,” Indrid said, tone honey-sweet. “Or you’ve just always liked me.” 

“I thought it was cool,” Duck sighed, lowering his hands and looking at Indrid. “I was twenty-one, an’ Juno pressured me into gettin’ a tattoo when she got one. So I picked the local cryptid, ‘cause it was the best idea I could think of at the time. West Virginia pride an’ all that.” 

“Interesting,” Indrid said, tilting his head. “And the chest scars?” 

“That’s ‘cause I’m trans,” Duck explained. “Is that a thing on Sylvain?” 

“Oh, yes,” Indrid said, “but magic is used to transition rather than surgery.” 

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” Duck said, fidgeting with the cuff of his jacket. “I knew it wouldn’t feel great on your end.” 

Indrid shrugged. “It only takes about a minute to heal from a soulmate injury. And it made you happy, right?” Duck nodded. “So it was worth it.” 

“I’m inclined to agree,” Duck told him with a small smile. “So what now?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“What do we do now that we know we’re soulmates?” 

Duck and Indrid just looked at each other, wondering what to say. 

“I suppose we can try being friends,” Indrid suggested. He looked down at his bruised limbs. “I was going to suggest that we go hiking together, but I think we can save that for a later date while I heal up.” 

“Wish I’d rescued you sooner,” Duck said softly, looking concerned. “I knew somethin’ was wrong when I felt you get hurt. But we were already on the way to the abomination battle, an’ if that thing was allowed to keep goin’ around as it pleased, a lot more people could’ve gotten hurt.” 

“I understand,” Indrid responded. “You aren’t my keeper, Duck. You don’t have to come to my aid every time I get hurt.” 

Duck looked down at his hands, embarrassed. “Yeah, but I want to.” 

Indrid felt his heart grow warm. “You already care about me,” he realized out loud. Duck quietly nodded. “Are you busy the rest of today?” 

“Nah.” 

“Then let’s spend a little while together,” Indrid said, smiling gently. “There’s so much I want to know.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Duck said, standing up. “Lemme take you to my place. It’s a li’l less cramped. And I got a cat you can meet.” 

“Ooh, I can’t wait.” 

*

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make my day!


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